


Let the Games Begin

by DragonofFernweh



Category: Maximum Ride, Maximum Ride - James Patterson
Genre: F/M, Fang/Max, Fax - Freeform, Iggy/Nudge - Freeform, Maximum Ride - Freeform, Truth or Dare, max ride - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:17:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6359005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonofFernweh/pseuds/DragonofFernweh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A friendly game can never stay too innocent for long when a flock of competitive teenagers gets involved. When Truth or Dare is suggested, maybe Max would have been wise to veto the idea. Then again, she's far too stubborn to go down without some claws. Fang, on the other hand, doesn't mind getting scratched up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Truth?

_Winner takes all._

ღ

Max was finding out that most of her regrets seemed to center around someone making an innocent suggestion. It was her hapless following along with said suggestion that usually ended up with something on fire and someone crying. Like now, for instance. Her eyes were on fire and her ego was crying. Nudge, on the other hand, was the picture of joy. There was no way Max could turn down that face! Especially with how rarely they all even got to sit down and play something together. Thus, with much reluctance, Max conceded. "Fine, we can play Truth or Dare." It was hard to believe that just a few simple words could be her doom, but Max had seen worse. Maybe she was just being a little dramatic at this point.

Throughout the entire house, Nudge's squeal could be heard echoing. Past the ringing in her ears, Max had the grace to be thankful they had settled in a place far away from any other people. Far, far away. She wouldn't be making the willing choice to live anywhere around others for a long time. Nineteen years of human contact was plenty to have given Max a healthy dose of disdain for them. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd gotten a rash just from popping by a store the other day. That could have just been the loose cat hair on her jacket, though. Ever since Nudge had sneaked that stupid orange cat in, Max had been finding stray hairs all over the place. That wasn't even the main issue, either! Total's complaining was.

"Thanks, Max! This is going to be so much fun, we never sit down to play games anymore! I mean, I know we've been super busy with kicking butt and saving people and all... But now that we're here and we're all by ourselves we can relax a little bit and just have fun!" Nudge bounced from foot to foot with energy that even a five-year-old could envy. Sometimes, Max wondered if Nudge had an extra pair of lungs hidden in her somewhere. That would sure explain how Nudge could talk a mile a minute without filling up her oxygen supply at any point. "I'll go get the others! Put some pillows down on the floor so we can sit down, I'll be right back!"

Max watched as Nudge darted off to round up the others. Once the younger girl was out of sight, Max released the mother of all groans. "How do I let myself get roped up in things like this?" While lost in her own pity party, she heard a rustle behind her. Just as goosebumps started to rise on her flesh, she was already condemning the source of it. "I thought we were past you sneaking around, Fang."

A pillow whapped Max in the back, knocking her forward a step and making her grunt in surprise. She whirled around with the feather-filled weapon in hand, having every intention of knocking the crap out of Fang for his stunt. The boy held up his hands in a claim of innocence. "Nudge said to set pillows out. I'm only doing what she asked."

Right. Max definitely believed the little half-smile growing on the creep's face. She also believed they would all get to live freely and go off to fancy colleges to fulfill their every hope and dream!

Okay, a little pessimistic there. Draw it back to the game at hand.

Max tossed down the pillow and Fang threw five more towards her to set down, creating a circle for them all to sit in. Max plopped down on one of the couch cushions and Fang took up one to the left of hers. "It can't be that bad. They're just kids." Fang kind of ruined his attempt at reassuring Max due to the wily smirk on his face.

"Yeah, and I've seen these kids knock an Eraser's teeth in. I'm not gonna put it past them to come up with some slimy schemes." Max already felt the oncoming migraine and things hadn't even started yet. She reached up to rub at her temples just as three kids came tramping into the living room, followed by a lagging adult. Iggy was the last one to come, stomping down the stairs one step at a time. Max was thankful that she obviously wasn't the only one who wasn't too excited about this little game.

"Come on Ig, get in the spirit," Fang spoke from beside Max. She didn't have to turn her head to see the smirk on his face. Max doubted that Fang was pumped about the game himself, but he was definitely enjoying hers and Iggy's despair over it.

"Fuck off," Iggy seethed under his breath. He clapped a hand over his mouth just a moment after saying it, but it wasn't enough to prevent Max from tossing one of Angel's nearby stuffed toys at him. The useless thing just bounced off his chest, but her point was still there!

"Watch your language!" she told him. Iggy retaliated Max's chastisement with quite the glacial look. Had he been capable of actually seeing her, Max was sure that extra power would have frozen her solid. As things were, Iggy could only glower in her general direction, sparing her a fiery death. It wasn't as if the two youngest hadn't ever heard people cuss before. Max had overheard them curse a few times themselves. That didn't make it right! She wanted at least a little child-friendliness around here.

"Well, we're all in a circle. What do we do now, Nudge?" Iggy asked her, his voice dripping with boredom. If Nudge noticed the lack of enthusiasm, she didn't comment on it. She simply launched into an explanation of the rules like she was giving them her life story.

"Okay! We each take turns, starting with Gazzy. You have to pick another person and ask them if they want a truth or a dare! Whichever they pick, you ask them a question you want them to answer or you dare them to do something." Nudge was beaming from ear to ear by the time she finished stating the rules of the game. Max had never quite been into stuff like this. Granted, she'd never gotten around to reading teenage magazines filled with junk like this. She'd been a little busy, you know, running for her life and all that.

Gazzy rubbed his hands together with a devious smile, his gaze aimed towards Iggy. Before he could open his mouth, Max jumped in to save them all from getting blown to smithereens. "I want to make it clear right now. There will be no bombs, no explosions of any kind, and no fire."

"Aw, Max–" Gazzy and Iggy both began to protest Max's rules, but there was no way in cold heck she was going to be swayed.

"No! Nothing illegal or destructive. I'd like to live here a while before it has scorch marks in the ceiling!" Gazzy pouted for a second, but he wasn't going to let it get him too down. There were still plenty of ways to cause mayhem.

"All right, all right. Iggy, truth or dare?" Iggy wasn't a fan of getting picked first for this, if his grumble was anything to go by. He was just lucky he couldn't see the mischief glittering in Gazzy's eyes, a sight the others were unfortunately privy to. Iggy decided on dare. There wasn't that much to lose, was there? Gazzy was just thirteen, after all.

Gazzy grinned.

Max was pretty sure she had a mild heart-attack.

"Okay, okay…I got it! Go snoop through Nudge's stuff. Come back with something incriminating!" Gazzy stuck his tongue out at Nudge, who had started to choke on her soda. Past her wheezing, she tried shouting a protest, but Iggy was already taking the stairs two at a time. Blind or not, he was sure to find something worthwhile. A diary Gazzy could look through, some girlish thing that Nudge might be too old for, any dumb thing a sixteen-year-old liked to keep in their room.

A part of Max wanted to speak up out of pure pity for Nudge, whose coughing was beginning to cease thanks to Angel gently patting her back. But, another tiny, evil part of Max was grinning like a cat. There were no friends when you played Truth or Dare. "Hey, don't worry so much. It's not like you've got anything to hide, right?" Max was trying to be helpful, but Nudge only grimaced. "Nudge…right?" The lack of answer was starting to worry Max. Nudge gave a weak, fake smile and a nervous giggle. That was even worse than the silence had been. From upstairs, Max heard Iggy start to descend towards them again.

"Uh, no, of course not! But there's still stuff I'd rather keep–private!" Nudge's voice rose into a shriek on the final word, her brown eyes growing as wide as saucers when Iggy came back into the room. He flung a thin, black pair of panties at Nudge that landed in her lap.

"Looks like someone's been to the lingerie store. Not that I can see them, but they certainly don't feel like much." Iggy leaned against the entryway, lips stretched into a smug smirk. Fang politely turned away to sip at his soda while Gazzy flopped onto his back and slapped his hands over his eyes with a dismayed cry.

"Shut up! Panties aren't the worst thing you've ever seen!" Nudge cried, stuffing the thong underneath her jacket and shoving it towards the couch, away and hopefully forgotten. Meanwhile, Max was still struggling to figure out where Nudge had even gotten the money to buy such fancy underwear.

"Nudge, where did…?" Max trailed off, letting the question ask itself.

Nudge shrugged uncomfortably. "Well, there was a sale, and I saw a few cute ones, so I just thought that…you know? They were really pretty and they're so soft Max! You should buy some sometime!" Nudge winced at the scornful glare Max aimed at her. "What? They're super comfortable!"

"All right, enough of this. Let's just continue with the game, if we're done exposing enough of Nudge's secrets." Max waved her hands in dismissal. Nudge seemed thankful for the ordeal to be over, for now. Iggy came and dropped down beside Max once again, looking ahead towards Nudge. Privately, Max was praying that he wasn't going to say her name. _"Please, just accidentally be looking in her direction,"_ Max thought to herself.

"Fang. Truth or dare?" Iggy asked, giving Max a large bout of relief. For a second she thought she was going to have a bunch of kids playing "Petty Revenge" instead of Truth or Dare. Fang hummed in thought for a moment before choosing a dare. Max wasn't surprised, either. Fang was the most private person among them. He would sooner eat a leg off the table before choosing truth.

Iggy cocked his head with a faint smile. "All right, I dare you to, hm…" Iggy paused and sat for a few seconds, a calculative expression crinkling his brow. The entire time, Max sat with baited breath. Finally, as if he were aware he was causing Max physical pain, Iggy sneered. "I've got it. I dare you to go get one of Max's bras, and hang it on the pole outside.

No one moved at first. Max was too stunned to have even registered what Iggy had said, and the younger ones were too afraid to say anything at all. Fang was the one who recovered first, and when he recovered, he recovered fast. He was off the ground and up the stairs before Max had time to blink.

"You little jerk!" She shouted after him, scrambling to her feet and starting for the stairs. She paused at the railing first, catching the sound of a window clicking upstairs. The sneak, he was jumping out of her window! Fang might have been faster on the ground, but who was faster in the sky? Max's teeth bared in a snarl and she turned on her heel, darting past the rest of her hysterical flock and flinging the front door open. A blast of cool spring air hit her in the face, blowing her fair hair about her shoulders.

She looked up and squinted, hoping to spot Fang's shape in the sky. His wings were too dark to make out. In fact, had he not whipped right past Max, she might not have ever spotted him at all. She gasped as the leaves whirled around her, stirred up by the power of Fang's wings. "You're so slow. When are you going to get off the ground?" Max jerked her head up to stare at Fang, the bane of her existence, who paused for just a moment right above her head. In his hands was one of her bras.

"You dick," Max seethed, safely out of range of the kids and free to cuss all she wanted. Fang merely grinned; with that, he was shooting away from the infuriated woman. Her own wings expanded and with a little speed (perhaps a bit of rage, too) she powered herself off the ground and into the air. Strong wings beat rapid-fire against the wind and carried her upwards. Fang had only gotten a little bit ahead of her, just past the arch of trees. From somewhere on the ground, Max could hear Angel and Nudge cheering her name while Iggy and Gasman were screaming for Fang. Fine! See who bailed them out of trouble next time!

Max scowled as she saw Fang dip past the trees. She poured on the speed, wings beating wildly as she soared up over the twined branches. There he was, black bra in hand and nowhere to hide. Target locked. Max zeroed in on her prey like a hawk to a rabbit and, without a pause, barreled into Fang's chest. They had both taken much harder hits and at much faster speeds, but it still was winding. The two toppled to the forest ground, just a few feet above where Fang had come to hover. The air flew out of Max's lungs in a burst, leaving her to gasp as she tangled up with her little thief. She felt one of Fang's arms hook around her waist, cushioning her as they landed.

Hurrying, she reached up to snatch the bra out of Fang's hand. Once she had it in her grasp, she sat up on his waist and gave a victorious cry. "I win!" Max sneered down at him, yet to notice what position she'd just placed herself in. Fang's teeth sank into his lower lip.

Did he point it out and die, or stay quiet and die? "Actually, I think I'm the one winning, Max," Fang told her, looking up at her through his lowered lashes. Max narrowed her eyes with suspicion when the man place his hands on her hips. Just as she was about to ask what on earth he thought he'd won from this, she felt his hips shift beneath hers. Truly, Fang was trying his best, but it was hard to fight down a hard-on with Max pressing right against him. At least he'd warned her, sort of.

"You're such a pervert," Max hissed above Fang.

Resentful of that accusation, Fang exhaled a breathless chuckle. "You're the one pinning me to the ground, not the other way around." With that pointed out, Max had little room to argue. If she couldn't argue, then she would take it a step further instead. If a loss was in sight, then Max would always just raise it to the next level instead, until she could win.

The woman leaned over and, with her lips to Fang's ear, she smirked. "So, you get off on someone holding you down? I'll remember that next time we're sparring." Max hopped off Fang before he could retaliate with something far cleverer than she could beat. With one win in hand, Max knew how to take off. She didn't hear him following behind her, but she was sure he was there somewhere. "Don't be too bitter now, Fang." Max spoke over her shoulder, cocky grin in place and all.

Once they had returned to the lit yard, Max could hear the other four arguing over who was going to win the brawl; Max or Fang. Nudge was the first to notice the two, as she was floating a few inches off the ground while snapping something at Iggy. She had gotten into a habit of that lately, Max had noticed. When Nudge argued with Iggy, she would hover over him to be bigger than he was, even though he couldn't even see her. Max couldn't blame Nudge for this, since she was also a bit peeved at the healthy, well over six-feet tall heights the two men had grown to. Once Nudge's eyes met Max's, a broad grin overtook her previous scowl.

She jabbed her finger into Iggy's chest, causing him to stumble back a step or two. "Max won, just like I knew she would! You owe me a dollar!"

Max approached the kids with a disapproving frown etched on her face. "You were making bets?" she asked, garnering a sorry look from Nudge. "And you bet _against me?_ " Now it was Iggy's turn to look sheepish; to his credit, it didn't even look fake. Nudge shrilled with glee and threw her arms around Max to hug her.

"I knew you would kick his butt, Max!" she exclaimed, bouncing and jostling Max all the while.

"Yeah, we knew you wouldn't lose to anyone!" Max glanced down as Angel chimed in, a smile on her sweet little face. Max chuckled and reached to pet Angel's hair.

"Of course not, kiddo. You think I'd lose to some silly old boy? Not a chance." Max thought she heard Fang scoff as he passed her by, but she couldn't be sure. Sometimes she doubted he even made noise at all. "C'mon, game is still on, right?"

Nudge bounded back into the house with Gazzy on her heels, though Angel stuck around to hold Iggy's hand back into the house. Iggy didn't need a guide, and Angel knew it, but he still allowed her to do it most of the time. Angel felt a little bad Nudge had won the bet. Iggy had already lost a small fortune to her, over the years. "Nudge usually wins, Iggy. You should know better!"

Max had to hide a snort. When you heard a nineteen-year-old get lectured by an eleven-year-old, it was a priceless thing. She took her seat on the floor again, with the rest of the kids aside from Iggy. He had decided to flop onto the couch instead. "What, are you too good for the floor, now?" Max was teasing him, but he held up a very rude gesture to her that suggested he wasn't all too amused. He still wore a lazy grin all the same, if only because he heard Max's irate spluttering. If she could just reach out and snap that finger of his–

"Nudge, truth or dare?" Nudge looked up when she heard Fang say her name.

She perked up a little, awaiting any challenge he could possibly come up with. "Dare!"

Fang leaned back onto his hands and cocked his head towards Iggy. "I dare you to go sit in Iggy's lap."

That was just plain mean. Max expressed her censure for this decision through the fire welling in her eyes. Fang pretended not to notice the storm directed at him. It was just an innocent dare, after all. It wasn't his fault Nudge had a crush that she never acted on.

Utter horror painted Nudge's face, her eyes widened and her mouth pursed into a thin line. Perhaps she was considering unleashing a litany of phrases that would get her banned from any church, ever. Lucky for her, she glanced at Max and chose to live instead of curse her way from here to London. Turning her head, Nudge risked a glance at Iggy. He deserved credit for not being a total ass about it, Max supposed, but he was still wearing that lop-sided smile that spoke volumes of smugness. With a defeated huff, Nudge stood up and stomped towards the couch. For a second it looked like she wanted to just knock Iggy off it, but finally, she sat herself in his lap. Much to Max's annoyance, Gazzy whistled. That was it, no more late night television for the kids.

One of Iggy's arms rested around Nudge's waist to keep her from slipping off. Had he been able to see it, Iggy would have teased Nudge for the blush on her face for weeks to come. This incident was already going on his list for a while yet.

In a mumble, Nudge made the brazen choice to continue digging the hole deeper. "Angel, truth or dare?" That couldn't go too wrong, could it?

Max really should learn to leave that question out of her vocabulary.

Angel pondered for a few seconds before she decided on dare, cheerfully bobbing her head in finality of her choice. Nudge sucked her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to come up with something decent enough for Angel. Finally, she snapped her fingers. "Read Iggy's mind!"

Why Nudge had deemed that a good idea was beyond Max, but Angel had already set the dare in motion before Max, or even Iggy, could protest. Her blue eyes blinked owlishly for a few seconds before she cupped her hands and held them beneath her chin. "Aw, that's so sweet, Iggy!" Max regretted letting Angel get into those Disney movies, now she gushed at every romantic thing she saw. Or heard, rather?

Iggy covered his mouth to hide the redness dusting his skin and turned his face away from the rest of the flock. Nudge muffled a giggle behind her palm, a little pepped by her revenge. Max couldn't help a small smile herself. What? It was a sweet sight. Not that she'd ever anticipated something like this happening, but she thought that she should have. Iggy and Nudge had always worked well together and spent time with one another. Something was bound to happen sooner or later with chemistry like that.

"Max?" The oldest girl turned towards Angel when she heard her name. Angel clapped her hands together. "Truth or dare?"

Yeah, Max _really_ should have put a stop to this game.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to keep this story. After much conflict, consideration, and frankly a bit of cussing I finally decided I would keep this monstrosity and simply try to make the best out of what was both a cliché idea and shitty way to write it! It doesn't make sense, it's childish, it's jumbled; yet it still has over a hundred favorites and over fifty reviews. I had to keep it. I would have felt terrible for these people had I deleted it.
> 
> So, I did a full rewrite this time, with basically only keeping the "truth or dare" aspect intact. Hopefully it's not too terrible this time around. This is the first fanfic I ever wrote, so maybe a bit of nostalgia kept me from throwing it away, too. It's not by any means a great fic, I only wanted to make it readable and hopefully less cringe-worthy. At the very least, it doesn't resemble what twelve-year-old me pissed out a few years ago.
> 
> I understand some people get fussy about ages so in case anyone missed it, here's a list of their ages in this story. Max, Fang, and Iggy are nineteen; Nudge is sixteen; Gazzy is thirteen and Angel is eleven. I understand some might offense that Nudge is sixteen, but that age difference is legal where I live and I've seen it all my life. I apologize if it isn't the norm where you're from and therefore makes you uncomfortable.


	2. or Dare?

Fang could have almost felt bad for Max; the key word being almost. Angel's name was a bit of a deception when it boiled down to how cunning the child could be. They had all experienced that first hand. Angel cocked her head and placed the tip of her index finger to her chin, tapping against it in thought. As Max wrung her hands together, she was blind to the irony of her troubles. Place her in a fight to the death and she's in her zone; ask her to play a fun game and she's horror-struck. Max was a paradox, to Fang. A beautiful, powerful paradox.

Angel's blue eyes darted towards Fang and the boy felt his throat tighten. They all forgot how careful they had to be to hide certain thoughts from Angel's unseen grasp. A sly smirk crossed Angel's lips. With a giggle, she pointed her left hand towards Max and the right one towards Fang. "I dare you both to spend an hour upstairs together!" Personally, Angel was doing it so that the rest of them could watch a movie Max would never approve of. But, the implications to the eldest four were glaring.

Nothing good could come from this. In fact, maybe it would be best to just avoid the situation altogether and prevent the oncoming war. Max cut her gaze towards the open window in the living room, but someone had already beaten her to it. Fang shut the window with a heartbreaking click before he turned to face Max. "Don't tell me the "Great and Brave Max" is turning down a dare?" Fang was picking on one of Max's most sensitive nerves. He was also doing it with an expertise that made Max regret not abandoning him in a box somewhere when they were kids.

Max stood. She placed her hands on her hips. "There's no way I'm losing because of you. Get up the stairs, blackbird." Max scrunched her nose up in that frustrated habit she had, waiting for Fang to start up the stairs first. Just when they reached the top of the staircase he paused and called down to the others. "Stay out of trouble, we might not come back." Max shoved the boy away from the stairs, sending him towards the closest bedroom; her own.

"You'll be lucky if you do come out." Max grumbled, kicking her door shut behind her. Maybe she should be a little more careful with it, considering the last time she had to fix something she almost lost her pinkie.

Fang held his hands up to Max in a gesture of surrender. "I'm not the one who suggested this, Max. Nudge was, remember?" Well, duh. But Max was not going to yell at Nudge. She would do that puppy-eyed look she learned from Angel.

"Maybe, but you're also the one–put me down!" Max was rudely interrupted by Fang picking her up around her waist. He turned around and tossed Max onto her bed, which gave a quiet squeak under her weight. A few pillows went bouncing off the mattress and onto the floor to be lost beneath the bed forever. "You ass, you're lucky I don't pick one of those up to smother you." The threat, like most of them were, was empty. But it was the thought that counted.

"I'm touched you'd go through that much effort for me." Fang's soft laugh echoed around the cool room, a deep and liberating sound that sent a pleasant shiver down Max's back. She raised herself up onto her elbows to look up at Fang's imposing figure as he neared the edge of the bed.

"Fang, I–" Max's voice was lost somewhere on the way. Perhaps it was when Fang unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off. Or, maybe it was when he smiled down at her in that way that never failed to make her heart race. Yeah, one of those things had done it. Max swallowed, trying to wet her dry throat. "What do you think you're doing?"

Fang didn't approach Max any further. He stayed at the edge of the bed to give the woman the space she needed. A caged Max was one who broke windows, or noses. "Are you being coy, or are you as naive as the kids downstairs?" Somehow, the words managed to rouse a streak in Max, which was about as close to comforting her as Fang usually came.

"Right. You're into getting pinned, I've got some rope somewhere, so we could make a night?" Wry humor was a good shield in Max's opinion. At least it got a chuckle out of Fang. He knelt one knee on the bed and leaned forward to press his hands on either side of Max's head. She tilted her head up. Barely a breath was between their lips, but neither one of them moved to close the gap just yet.

"Actually, I'm just into you," Fang's lips tilted into a sly smile. Max rolled her eyes, but she had the good grace to loop one of her arms around his neck. Flattery did get you everywhere, don't listen to what the old people say.

"We can use the rope another day, then." Max arched herself up to be able to reach Fang's mouth. Warm, dry lips pressed against hers, and she could almost taste his shock. Fang didn't disappoint, he always had been fast at recovering, after all. With one hand supporting his weight, he cupped Max's face with the free one. The calloused pad of his thumb stroked against the smooth skin of her cheek and followed the contour of her jawline. Max hummed in appreciation for the cool touch against her hot flesh. Fang had always been the ice to her fire, enough to cool her down and keep her grounded. Even if he had been the one to set her aflame. Not all heat was bad, Max was learning.

Their lips parted with a quiet pop. Fang's hands found Max's wrists and pushed them over her head. His mouth stifled the woman's disapproval. Instead, the protest morphed into a satisfied moan. Max slipped her tongue past Fang's parted lips and traced the tip of it against the roof of his mouth. Fang's grip tightened on Max's wrists. She was a sneaky thing that would try every trick in the book to make Fang's control lapse. Well, there were two players in this game; and they were both very, very competitive.

The rough, cool pads of Fang's fingertips glided beneath the oppressive fabric of Max's top to shove the offending thing upwards. Max could take a hint just fine; the shirt wasn't wanted; therefore, the shirt was gone. The girl arched her back and slid the top off with little effort, where she then discarded it to the side in a quiet whisper of rustling cloth. With the expanse of her soft skin now unprotected by the bothersome shirt, Fang was free to lose himself in a world that was solely Maximum Ride.

Her skin, darkened by hours in the sun, left her a healthy tan that would make most wonder if she spent her entire day in a lounge chair sunbathing. But no, she didn't get these dimpled curves of muscle from sitting around. Her abs weren't hard or wiry, but firm and powerful. Max's muscles quivered as Fang traced his fingers against her skin, his nails catching slightly on the faint rises. They all had scars. Max, Fang, and Iggy had earned the most of them. Several of the wounds had come as gifts from the School. The three had been a fresh, new species. Of course, the scientists would want to fillet them like fish. Others? They came from battle, from defense and survival. Max wore those scars with the pride of a queen.

She had earned those marks, they screamed of her stubborn will and raw power for fighting. Even now, as Fang traced a faded slash scar on her hip, Max's lips tilted with a prideful satisfaction. "You plan on finding every one of them, lover boy?" Max's voice had dropped to a husky tone. Fang found it rather hard to focus, when she spoke like that to him.

"Another time, when I've got more patience. I could spend a night devoted to worshiping every inch of you," Fang promised her. He leaned down and grazed his lips against the old wound, kissing it. No pain sparked there now, but Max could remember when there once did. She hummed in appreciation, both for Fang's sappy words and for his affections. When he chose to, Fang could wield his words better than any world leader or historic poet could. Well, perhaps Max was a tad bit biased.

Fang pressed another kiss just below Max's navel. She felt his fingers fiddling with the buttons to her jeans, but she did nothing to halt him. With no protests voiced, Fang unzipped the jeans and began to tug them off Max's hips. The woman raised herself up a bit to make the task easier, but she wasn't going to let things continue how they were. How was this fair at all? Before Fang could move again, Max pressed her palm to his chest. A thin blonde brow raised, she leaned up so that her lips moved against Fang's with each of her words. "Do you think I'm going to lay here naked while you still have clothes on? I don't think so," she whispered, eliciting a shudder from Fang. Dexterous fingers snatched his shirt up and started to tug it upwards, and the man could only comply by lifting his arms.

Max grinned with approval. It was getting better, but it could only improve from here. Now she hooked her fingers in the belt-loops of Fang's pants and used them to tug him closer, giving her easier access to his zipper. Fang's teeth sunk into his lower lip when Max began to slowly, terribly slowly, pull down the zipper. The pressure loosened and his chest relaxed in a sigh of relief. Fang heard Max emit a smug chuckle and he realized that somewhere along the way, he'd let his eyes slip closed. "It doesn't take much, does it?" she teased. Fang's hips spasmed when Max dragged her finger along the bulge in his boxers. Prompted by Fang's strained hiss, Max pulled down the flimsy white boxers.

Fang's cock popped free from the tight confines of the underwear, thick and erect. Beads of pre-cum smeared against his tip. Before Max could follow through with any more of her playful explorations of Fang's body, she found herself shoved backwards. Fang's mouth crushed against hers in a searing kiss, sure to bruise soft lips and make Max taste him every time she even thought of him. His fingers had lost some of their previous adroit skill, but he still managed to unhook Max's bra with relative ease. It fell away to expose her breasts, the cool air in the room caused pink nipples to harden into pert peaks. Fang cupped one of Max's breasts in his palm, gentle as he kneaded the soft, unblemished flesh. His thumb circled the hardened peak of Max's breast, where she was most sensitive.

It seemed to please Max, who arched her chest outwards and gasped into Fang's mouth. Fang broke apart from Max, a thin string of saliva fell onto her chin. Dark eyes peered up at Max as Fang lowered his face to her breast. He blew a cool puff of air over her nipple before he wrapped his warm lips around it. Max's mouth opened to groan in surprise, pleasant tingles weaving through her nerves. Fang's tongue pressed flat against Max's nipple as he sucked, eager to take in all her expressive reactions to what he was doing to her. Max's thigh nudged against Fang's hip as she shifted herself to try and mold them closer together. She had to get closer, to feel all him; every shiver, every hitch of his breath.

Fang's mouth kissed down Max's stomach, leaving a wet glide on her skin until he came to the band of her panties. He rolled the cotton garment down her hips and thighs until Max lifted her legs and kicked them onto the floor, where they crumpled. Max let her legs fall open upon Fang's coaxing fingertips stroking against her knees. They smoothed up her inner thighs, eliciting a tremble.

"God, Fang," Max exhaled the breathless hiss when she felt his teeth nip at her thigh. Apologetic, he sucked a hickey onto the smooth skin, leaving behind a mark that Max would get to look at for a while. Max's sex was glistening with arousal and her labia was puffy and pink. Max had to clench the sheets in her hands when she felt Fang's tongue against her most sensitive parts. He licked up along her folds before he delved deeper, using his fingertips to spread her open.

Max tangled her fingers in Fang's hair to tug him closer to her, pressing his face against her sex. Getting bold, Fang dipped the tips of his index and middle finger against Max's entrance and slowly sunk them into her. Max clamped down on the fingers with a startled gasp, causing her to wince a bit. Fang kissed at her inner thigh with a soothing hush, coaxing the woman to relax and invite the digits inside of her heat. With how wet Max had gotten, Fang had no trouble thrusting his fingers in and out of her. Her lubrication glistened on his fingers with every pull out. Holding onto his control right now was Fang's top priority; he'd sooner see Max lose herself, after all. But, it was getting harder by the second not to let go to a more primal instinct.

Fang dug his fingers into Max's thighs hard enough to leave behind bruises. With the way she convulsed, it was all he could do to pin down her hips. His tongue traced rough circles against Max's aching clitoris, pressing firm against it only to pull away and leave Max whimpering for release. The coils in Max's belly were tightening, tighter and tighter until the pressure was starting to hurt. She ground her hips down against Fang's face with impatient groans. Her entire body was trembling something fierce with pleasure and an innate need that was as carnal as it was natural.

Fang wrapped his lips around Max's clitoris and sucked, pistoning his fingers in and out of her cunt with a lewd, wet sound. Max's breath hitched on the first syllable of Fang's name, and it took all she had not to rip the sheets in half beneath her. She yanked Fang close, surely tearing out some of his hair in the process. Fang's tongue pressed inside of Max and she convulsed on the bed, her orgasm was like electricity dousing over her nerves. A whine caught in her throat, but it was the only noise Max was capable of producing. Even after her orgasm had washed over her body, Fang continued to glide his tongue in languid strokes against her drenched sex. That drew out lingering flinches and breathless pleas from the still-shaking woman.

Max was boneless. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd just left her body behind and floated up into the clouds. Of course, she knew from past experience that you couldn't live in clouds, but you could still feel like it. Her eyelids fluttered open when she heard the bed creak. Her eyes met with Fang's as he hovered above her, settled between her spread thighs. The hunger in Fang's gaze sent a chill down Max's back, but it was far from fearful. It was the chill of feeling hunted, but it was a chase Max had always wanted to lose. Admitting loss was sort of okay if the prize was big enough, right?

Max looped her fingers around Fang's shoulders to pull him down against her, crushing her chest against his. His mouth found hers, even if it took a moment of clarity to not just blindly kiss at her jawline instead. Never disengaging from the kiss, Max reached between them and wrapped her fingers around Fang's erection. She felt him tense above her and almost pitied the poor man. He'd been ignoring his own need for quite a while to focus on hers. Max was willing to make it up to him, at least. She guided the head of his cock to her entrance, an act of not only permission, but encouragement as well.

Fang pushed his hips forward and began to sink the length of his cock inside of Max. She grimaced, but the worst of it was short-lived. Max throbbed with the discomfort of feeling stretched for several seconds. Fang was, of course, slow and careful. He never moved fast enough to hurt or tear her. Max had put on a brave face throughout the entire ordeal, the least Fang could do was make the effort not to act like a madman. The last thing he ever wanted to do was cause Max pain.

"It gets easier. Are you okay?" Fang managed to speak despite the ecstasy crushing his lungs. Max scoffed, but to her credit, she didn't make a remark about it. That's not to say she didn't want to, there were quite a few things she could have said. Like how Fang should shut up, how he had no room to talk since he'd never had a dick inside him, all sorts of good stuff. But this was Fang being gentle, and Max could be gentle, too.

She rested her lips against Fang's throat, where she felt his pulse beating against her mouth. "You can go ahead and move, I think the worst is over." Max hoped so, anyway. The throb had dulled to a faint twinge now, but when Fang moved she found he stole her breath on his way. Fang couldn't swallow the low growl that rumbled in his chest. Max was just so tight and she clenched down on him when he pulled out, driving him to shove himself back inside of her. Max's thighs squeezed around Fang's waist as he rocked them into hers, pulling him close each time he left her.

Max's voice was raspy with pleasure, echoing inarticulate words against Fang's ear. Her breath was a warm puff against his skin each time she struggled to find it again, though she never quite seemed to. Max was too busy with other, more important things. Like how her body and mind both focused on the intense satisfaction rocketing through her body, and how she shared it with Fang. Or, even on the little things. Such as the way Fang's voice rose in pitch when he felt good, or how he couldn't seem to keep his eyes open. He would blink down at Max every now and again though, just to see her expressions.

God, she was beautiful. Why had it taken her so long to believe him?

Max tilted her head back against the sheets, mouth open and eyes scrunched shut in an expression wrought with bliss. Fang had to ball his fists in the sheets when he felt her muscles clamp down on his cock and ripple with her orgasm. It was fast for both of them, but it was only the beginning. There would be days with more patience, days with more experience. There were infinite amounts of curiosity that assured those days would come. For tonight, they could bask in what was a mind-blowing connection between them.

Fang's hips rocked into Max's with indolent rhythm, spilling inside of her and trying to ride out the last waves of his climax. His was faster than Max's, who still appeared lost in a haze. Her body trembled as remnants of pleasure sparked through her. Fang dropped his head to Max's throat, bared to him, and rested. She had yet to let go of him and he had yet to separate from her, but they both liked it this way. For just a little longer, let them bask in the afterglow and pretend moving wasn't an option.

Max had experienced many forms of exhaustion in her lifetime, but none quite such as this. Deep in her chest pulsed a radiant sense of satisfaction. Her bones were like jelly and her veins still tingled with aftershocks. She felt Fang lower himself next to her, but she couldn't be bothered to open her eyes. A part of her more worrisome side fretted that they should get dressed and make an appearance downstairs again, just to erase any suspicions. But, Fang tightened an arm around her waist and that idea went out the metaphorical window.

"Goodnight, Fang." Max whispered, rolling over to rest her face in the crook of his neck. Fang hummed drowsily in response, carding his fingers through Max's tangled hair. She drifted off before he did, leaving Fang to his own thoughts. In the daze, Fang thought about having to thank Angel for her little dare. Though she'd have no idea what it would mean.

It was unfortunate that the daze meant Fang's walls weren't as sturdy as he might have liked them to be. A quiet little voice echoed in his mind, interrupting his own thoughts.

_"You're welcome, Fang. For whatever it is. I hope you and Max have sweet dreams!"_

Fang's face heated up and he rushed to lock away any remaining thoughts about the night he'd just shared with Max. Just as he thought they had gotten away with keeping Angel oblivious to anything less than decent, her voice broke in again. Fang cringed.

_"Iggy says he wants you guys to buy soundproof walls."_

* * *

 Max wasn't a fan of the morning sunlight that had come peeking through her curtains. In fact, just to be spiteful, she stayed in bed for a few minutes, pretending it wasn't scorching her eyes. She had to relent soon though, or else she wouldn't have eyelids anymore. Blankets twisted around her as she rolled over away from the window. A sudden throbbing sensation between her legs surprised Max when she moved too fast. It wasn't something she'd consider to be more than a minor discomfort. Still, she could probably guilt Fang into taking care of her chores for today. With a wince, Max sat up. Immediately, she noticed the absence of a certain grumpy bird-boy.

It wasn't that big of a surprise to her. Maybe Fang wanted to leave before anyone could catch him leaving her room and stopped to tease him about it. Max could whine at him later, maybe even put on that fake-pout that got so much out of him. Hell, all three girls could widen their eyes and puff out their lower lip and get anything from Fang. Iggy was lucky he was blind. Max took her time getting up, being careful not to jostle herself too much. She picked up the blankets and pillows that had been strewn about to toss them back onto the bed. There, now it was somewhat more organized.

A warm shower did wonders for making Max feel relaxed and ready to tackle the day. She put on loose sweatpants instead of her usual, more tight-fitting clothes. Somehow, she doubted jeans would do her any favors right now. As she took her leave of her bedroom, the scent of pancakes wafted to her nose. "Nudge better have left me some," Max grumbled as she took the stairs two at a time. Hopefully there would be at least one syrupy treat left.

"Ah, she joins the land of the living!" Iggy's voice was the first to acknowledge Max. Of course, Max was sure he'd heard her leave her room, anyway. That hearing of his could be a real danger, sometimes.

"Morning, Iggy. Nudge and Gazzy leave any food?" Iggy gestured towards the kitchen with a nod, but Max was paying more attention to the secretive smirk the man was wearing on his face.

"Why do you look like the cat who caught the mouse?" Max prodded, further annoyed by the vague shrug Iggy offered her in response. Iggy could be the most uncooperative member of her flock. While Max wandered off to grab breakfast, Iggy sat sipping on his cup of coffee, smirk never falling off his face. Only once Max was a safe distance away from him did he call out.

"I hear bras make good flags these days, Max."

The sound of a plate clattering to the floor could be heard from somewhere in the kitchen. Max raced past Iggy, hoarding the intention of socking him one for later. Outside, the sight of her dark bra waving in the wind greeted her. It was like some sort of celebration about conquering lingerie-land. Max could taste the fury rising. "Fang!"

From up on the roof, Max heard a snicker. She stomped out into the yard in order to peer up at the house. There, reclining on the roof, was Fang, and right beside him sat Gazzy. "Were you in on this?!" Max demanded, arms crossed and brow furrowed in the picture of a woman scorned.

"Well, I'm not the one with the idea, but I can support genius, can't I?" Gazzy fell onto his back with a burst of hysterical laughter that mingled with Max's outraged cry.

Angel came trotting out of the house to investigate the commotion, followed shortly by a much slower-moving Nudge. "What's with all the yelling, Max?" Nudge yawned, tilting her head up. One eye squinted open and caught sight of the bra waving about in the wind. One of her thin fingers pointed up at it, as if it were a secret. "Er, Max? Flag poles don't have much need for modesty, you know?"

Max's wings unfurled with a harsh snap and she pushed off the ground. Either she was going to catch Fang or she would run them both into the ground trying. Fang rose from his spot and hopped off the shingles, wings outstretched and catching the nearest breeze to glide out on. From somewhere behind her, Max heard Gazzy wailing in despair along with Nudge and Angel's combined giggling. She could only assume the girls had formed a tag-team. Fang was getting away from her, but with a few more pumps of her wings Max was sure she could grab an ankle or something. She'd see if that little twerp thought it was so funny when it was _him_ strapped to the flag pole. Well, you know what they said about women.

Hell hath no fury.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am completely inept at writing sex scenes between someone with a penis and someone with a vagina. I tried, I really did, but it's been several months to a year since I last even tried. Hopefully it's better than what was splattered on the document beforehand.
> 
> Honestly rewriting this makes me want to rekindle my love for the Max Ride fandom. I could totally do a couple more shippy or cute flock fics. Maybe I'll consider it when I'm done with all this rewriting!


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